“Mom, I doubt he’ll care about the spicy chicken. I was talking about Cormac and me.”
“Of course. He deserves to know everything.”
“So our secret fake relationship is no longer a secret.”
She gives me a pointed look. “And no longer very fake, it would seem.” She pats my leg. “Don’t worry, I understand how difficult it is to deny a Peebles man. They sneak up on your heart, don’t they?”
They do. They really do.
“I don’t know what to do, Mom,” I admit.
“Then don’t do anything. You can wait and see where the current takes you, Nora. You don’t always have to remake the river.”
I wakeup at five thirty the next morning to Cookie licking my face.
Yes, I’m in Cormac’s bed.
His dad texted Mom and me from Charlotte last night to let us know that Cormac would be spending the night at the hospital.
I didn’t want to leave Cookie alone and worried all night, so I decided to stay with her.
Thankfully, Nathaniel had a spare key. When I stopped by, he thanked me profusely for the introduction to Ann,who was still at his house. I told them about Cormac’s injury, of course. Ann patted my hand, and Nathaniel launched into a long story about getting hit in the face by a baboon while on his first job. I wasn’t all that interested in the story, but I was happy to let his words flow over me.
Afterward, I texted my friends to let them know what was going on. And of course, Hannah, Briar, and Sophie showed up at Cormac’s house with a bottle of wine.
“You arenotbreaking up with that man for his own good,” Hannah said, shaking her glass of wine at me. “He made a fucking robot for you.”
“Which I broke.” I laughed. “I’m a menace.”
“And that’s exactly how we like you,” Sophie said. “I’m glad Cormac has the good sense to appreciate you too.”
Briar nodded and filled my wine glass. “I’ll never forget the way you terrorized my bully. That’s a real friend.”
“Or a real psychopath.”
“Every friend group needs one.” She ran a comforting hand down my back. “Besides, you made a ginger beer inspired by him. You obviously love him too.”
“I do love him, and I love you guys.” Even though I’ve felt that way about them for months, it’s the only time I’ve ever said the words out loud.
When I’d first found out about Jonah’s bullshit, my instinct had been to stay as far away as possible from Sophie, Hannah, and Briar. I wanted to move on and forget about the past, not live and breathe in it. But they’d become exactly the friends I needed.
Since arriving at Cormac’s house last night, I’ve managed not to cry…barely. But I still feel like an irreparable crack has been hewn into my defenses. It may have started out Cormac-sized, but it’s growing.
It’s annoying as hell.
And also freeing.
Cookie licks me again, then barks directly into my ear.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I groan, sitting up in bed. “It’s not even six a.m. This is inhuman punishment.”
She barks again in agreement, and I get up and walk her to the front door. I eye the fence’s gate suspiciously before I release her—and she instantly races toward a squirrel and starts barking.
Fuck. The neighbors won’t like that.
“Cookie,” I hiss. “Do your business and come back.”
Mercury must be in retrograde, because she actually listens.
